Campaign launched by Friends of the Elderly charity warns that the number of
older people feeling lonely is set to rise by 40 per cent by 2030

Hundreds of thousands of pensioners will be all but cut off from government services, shops and local communities within 15 years because of the rise of the internet, a campaign backed by David Cameron warns.

A study found that a growing shift by banks, utility companies, shops and community groups to carrying out their activities on the web will leave 703,000 over 60s remaining offline at the end of the next decade in situations akin to “living in a home with no windows”.

The research showed that the number of older people feeling lonely will rise by 40 per cent by 2030.

The report, published by the Friends of the Elderly charity, concluded that around seven million over 60s would be reporting loneliness in 2030, compared to 5.25 million today.

The charity said the increase would be fuelled by a steep growth in the size of the elderly population, together with a decline in marriage, which will leave more people over 60 living alone.

A separate poll commissioned by the charity found that eight in ten people have irregular or no contact with older people, while more than 50 per cent say they do not know their neighbours well enough to have a conversation with them.

On Thursday Friends of the Elderly launches a campaign,Be a Friend, based on the research and backed by the Prime Minister, to encourage people across Britain to initiate “everyday interactions” with older neighbours and family members to help combat loneliness. It hopes that the initiative will help to reduce the projected increase in the number of older people feeling lonely.

Its analysis, based on official population figures and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, found that 5.25 million people over 60 - or one in three - report feeling lonely at least sometimes. If nothing is done to tackle the problem, the number will rise to 7.03 million by 2030, based on the expected increase in the number of older people as well as the growing number of those living alone.

The study, The Future of Loneliness, conducted by the Future Foundation, found that the proportion of people over 65 who use the internet at home would rise from 51 per cent today to 85-90 per cent by 2030. Friends of the Elderly said it showed that it was vital to take action now to overcome loneliness in order people.

It warned that the digital shift would leave around 703,000 older people at a “serious risk of intensified exclusion” from society if more was not done to get people online.

The warning comes after Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, said in June that in the future most public services would only be available on the internet “because we think that is a better thing for people’s lives”.

Steve Allen, chief executive of Friends of the Elderly, said: “To be offline in 2030 will be like living in a home with no windows. We’ll miss out on much of the life and conversations of community, on opportunities to buy, sell and take part, and day-to-day shopping and payment of bills will become costlier and more inconvenient.

"As the benefits grow for internet users, digital exclusion, for non-users, will become increasingly punishing.”

The South West has the highest proportion of lonely older people per household, with one on four homes containing someone over 60 who reports feeling lonely. London has the lowest proportion at one in 11.